There was so much hope for this guy when he got the job too. That he crashed and burned as bad as he did is really discouraging. The lost season to COVID didn’t help but things were already going off the rails. Not sure who is going to be next or even if there’s a credible candidate who wants the job now. Every commissioner for decades seems to leave the league in worse shape than they found it.
This.
I too had high hope and praise for RA upon his hire to move the league forward, new broadcast options globally, new franchises in Halifax etc.. Now I’m probably one of his staunchest detractors. The guy has muddled everything he has touched.
Since the days of Jake Gaudaur I can only think of 2 Commissioners that were reasonably effective: Larry Smith & Mark Cohon. Bill Baker would have been a 3rd but his short tenure disqualifies him in my estimation.
Someone earlier said they need to get this hire correct. Yes and no. The league will attract a MOR, average candidate as anyone who is really a builder and visionary probably wouldn’t be attracted to this project. Whoever they attract will middle along until the next average hire.
It really is a 3rd rate sports league, it’s not Big 4 in NA and it’s not even lumped in with other attractive sport properties like NASCAR, F1, numerous soccer leagues, emerging women sports basketball, hockey, soccer etc… the list goes on and on. It’s niche for a dwindling number of fans and viewers. I think if TSN ever moved away from it, it would be toast. No one else would pick up the broadcast rights. CFL would try to do it themselves for a few years, mess it up and then it would be done, in a pool of red ink.